Walking is excellent exercise, so why don't more of us do it?
 

Some of the life long fittest people I've known were lifetime walkers. It's easy on your joints, you can increase speed and distance to increase the calorie burn, so why does everyone try to stop walking to start running?

Higher calorie burn? Get it over with faster? Harder means better? I really don't get it. If we all would get off our butts and walk every day - like briskly walk, we wouldn't have the obesity problem we have. We could avoid a lot of injuries too if we stuck to walking instead of running.

I've been working out for 15 months. I can now do power step aerobics for an hour - all the jumps - yep. I lift weights in bodypump and after 9 months, I have the most weight on the bar for most muscle groups, BUT... I can also still walk fast enough to get my heart racing for a good workout too.

Do people think it's wimping out or something to count walking as exercise? Just walk faster and longer! I guarantee your legs will get twitching and you'll get a good workout!

Think I might blog about this tomorrow.

I personally find it hard to walk...i find that my legs ache after and im breathless and well i know im out of shape.. I guess i rather run and put myself through torture for 20 minutes as opposed to doing it for 60 minutes through fast paced walking..

Because it would take a reeeeaaaally long time to complete a marathon? :lol:

I don't walk because it's boring to me. I mean, I live downtown Chicago and I walk everywhere but I don't really consider that exercise. It's like a necessity. But I don't really walk for exercise usually.

But we don't need to complete a marathon to be fit.... See, that's just it. We start setting our sites on things that are difficult. Why?

I understand challenging yourself, but if it ends up being that you get injured and can't run. Or you burn out and do nothing, where does that get you?

Why do we get into this mentality that working out has to be hard. Has to be at the gym. Has to be torture. It simply doesn't have to be.

That's different - if it's boring (any exercise) don't do it and find something that is less boring. Though, I used to live in Chicago and I can't imagine getting bored of walking in Chicago - it's like the perfect city for biking, walking or running as it's so flat. I miss that aspect A LOT and there's tons of interesting neighborhoods and with the grid set up, you can get from Point A to Point B in a logical way instead of twisting and turnign on curvy streets.

I do use walking as exercise. And when I first lost alot of weight in my 30's (gained it all back) walking was the only exercise I did for a long time. Then I added yoga, swimming and aeorobics. I need to do more of it though. Thanks this will be a reminder to get my butt in gear to walk more.

When I first started working out I felt self-conscious walking when others were jogging or running. But that was part of a larger problem regarding my self-esteem in general.

Then I started jogging because I was getting bored with walking. I thought ****, if I'm only aiming to clear a mile, why not get it done faster?

After that it became about actually enjoying it. I still walk when I want to which is pretty often. I usually alternate between jogging and walking because I can't do 3 miles of straight jogging yet. :lol: I just feel like doing it honestly. If I'm wearing light, comfortable clothes and I'm feeling good and the weather is nice, I just can't resist the urge to peel off like a maniac. :D

I love a good walk. To me, the treadmill is boring because there is no scenery - unless you are watching TV while doing it. When you are walking, all of your senses are engaged. Also, if you have a partner to walk with, it's a great time to chat and catch up while doing something healthy instead of the usual lunch/dinner/coffee date - or you could have a coffee or quick bite after the walk and know that you've earned it! I think walking is more social and gets you more engaged with the world than doing a machine (I have an elliptical) - ditto for outdoor bike riding.

ETA - I walked when I was at my high weight during the winter in all my winter gear when no one else was out. I felt more comfortable that way because I was one of those people who felt I needed to be in shape to start working out in public. In the winter, I felt hidden beneath my layers. During the summer, no way was I going to run, jog, bike, roller blade, or walk next to skinny minis in tiny tank tops, sports bras, and shorts. I guess it's the same reason I didn't feel comfortable joining a gym. How ironic - needing to be in shape to start working out where other people can see you.

I loove walking!! Lost most of my weight in the past doing that. I love running too though, because it makes me SWEAT :D

Of course, if you are just thinking about number of calories burned, walking, even when brisk, isn't as intense as running or aerobics or spinning. I walked an hour today on this gorgeous day and burned 300 some calories. I decided not to do a step workout which would have burned about 700 calories. But being inside when it's so beautiful? I'll soak up some vitamin D and forego a few calories instead.

i always wanted to be a runner...i love the feeling of moving my body so intensely and working out so hard...however i cant run outside because running on pavement is hard on my knees and breathing in the pollen deeply causes major asthma...so this time i tried running at the gym on the treadmill...i started last september and am still doing it as many days as i can fit in, usually at least 4-6 times a week....partly because i have a busy schedule and running is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories quickly and also because i like the fact that im finally making progress towards really running that ive never been able to do outside

walking, no matter how fast, is just not a hard enough workout for me to get me REALLY sweating and moving....however i do enjoy outdoor bike riding, even though it also isnt a hard enough workout for me

I love walking; it's nice to see others appreciate it as a form of exercise too!

I love walking. And now that I've been walking for a few weeks and working out I can now do small lengths of jogging, not really running. I'm like you, on a beautiful day I can't resist going outside and walking/jogging. I Hate doing inside exercises but do them if it's not good weather outside. Walking is the only thing has really kept me going with exercising this long. Ususally I would have stopped by now!

i walk twice a day. rain, sun, wind, hail, snow - i walk twice a day.

flood, fire, earthquake, tornado - i walk REALLY REALLY fast.

twice a day, without fail.

if i don't, the dog eats my house.